Nicolaus potschinsky



2 Y K S N I H O S T O P N (No Model.)

AUTOMATIC BATHOMETBR AND SHOAL WATER INDICATOR.

No. 507,590. Patent-ed 00a. 31,1893.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.

N. POTSCHINSKY. AUTOMATIC BATHOMB'TER 'AND SHOAL WATER INDICATOR. .No.507

Patented Oct, 31, 1893.

f .8. r m r h M M 6 d 110 4w 4 mm 2 m UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

v NIOOLAUS POTSGHIN SKY, OF ODESSA, RUSSIAQ AUTOMATIC BATHOMETER ANDSHOAL-WATER INDICATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 507,590, dated October31, 1893.

Application filed December 27, 1892. Serial No. 456,346. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NICOLAUS POTSOHINSKY,

colonel of engineers, a subject of the Emperor is also applicable fortaking and indicating soundings for hydrographical, topographical,geological and like purposes; its chief obj ect is to automaticallymeasure and indicate for preservative purposes the exact depth of water(within certain pro-determined limits) immediately beneath a vessel,even when the same is moving at full speed.

The invention is based, as will hereinafter appear, upon the theory ofsuspending apoint beneath the keel of a vessel by a triangular system orarrangement, two sides of the triangle being of constant length andcomposed by the keel and one of the integral parts of the apparatusWhile the third side of the triangle which is composed by anotherintegral part of the apparatus is of variable length.

I prefer to designate my invention the automatic pilot. I

In taking soundings for purposes of navigation; it is almost impossibleto ascertain the exact depth of water immediately beneath a vesselmoving at any rate of speed by means of the ordinary sounding apparatus,such as a lead-line and lead since by the time the lead reaches thebottom the vessel has usually passed the point of contact, but by theemployment of my invention the exact depth of water (within certainpredetermined limits,immediately beneath the vessels keel will beautomatically measured and indicated even when thevessel is moving atits highestv speed.

My invention may be embodied invarious forms of apparatus, provided theapparatus is so constructed and arranged as to embrace or com ply withthe following principle or conditions, that is to say, in one of theintegral parts of the apparatus there must be a point situated at apredetermined distance below the keel and suspended in position by atriangular system or arrangement as hereinbefore mentioned and theposition of this point relatively to the keel must remain constant andunaltered so long as the depth of water beneath the vessel exceeds toany extent the said predetermined distance of the point from the keel,but the moment the depth of water beneath the vessel approaches orbecomes less than the said pro-determined distance, the said point,without touching the bottom of the sea, must be caused automatically toascend through a curve which maintains a constant or unaltered positionrelatively to the vessel, and must continue to ascend through said curveso long'as the depth continues to lessen, descending again as the depthincreases thus following all the variations in depth (within the limitsfixed by the pro-determined depth of the point) beneath the keel of thevessel in its course. The said point must also be connected withapparatus or means which will cause the amount of its upward ordownwardmovement and consequently the variation in the depth of waterbeneath the-vessel, to be automatically indicated.

I will now proceed to describe having reference to theaccompanyingdrawings in which similar letters refer to correspondingparts in all the-figures two arrangements of apparatus embodying theprinciple of my invention as above set forth tlie 'one being for takingand indicating soundings at a moderate depth for purposes of navigationand the other being for taking and indicating soundings at a greaterdepth (not exceeding the length of the vessel) for hydrographical,explorat-ive and like purposes.

Figure l is aside elevation, partly diagram- 'matic, which illustratesthe application to vessels of apparatus constructed in accord ance withmy invention for taking and,indi-' eating soundings at moderatedepthsfor purposes of navigation. Figs. 2 andt3 are detached viewsshowing on a larger scale the bar and swinging 'framein sideelevationand 1'; plan respectively. Eigs, ,4; and daredetached views showing on alarger scale in plan and ICO part sectional side elevation respectivelythe method of suspending the feather in the swinging frame. Fig. 6 is adetached view on a larger scale showing the feather in longitudinalsection the electrical contact makers being omitted. Fig.7 is alongitudinal section of a portion of the feather on an enlarged scaleshowing the arrangement of the electric contact makers. Fig. Sis a sideelevation of the pulley over which the rope 1) passes.Fig.9isadiagrammat-ic view illustrating in side elevation a modifiedform of apparatus constructed according to my invention for taking andindicating soundings at a greater depth for hydrographical, explorativeand like purposes. Figs. 10 and 11 are detached views, on a larger scaleshowing in vsideelcvation and plan respectively the means employed inthe said modified form of apparatus for suspending the feather. Fig. 12shows the device illustrated in Figs. 10 and 11 in the position itassumes when the feather is brought into violent contact with the groundwhen in a vertical position. Fig. 13 is a diagram illustrative of thevarious directions in which the electrical contact makers within thefeather maybe arranged to tip and make contact when four electricalcontacts are employed.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 8 A represents the keel of avessel and B thestem or cutwater.

C is an arm or barhinged at one end to the forepart of the keel andhaving its other end connected at the point a with a wire rope D. ThekeelA, arm 0, and wire rope D, constitute the triangular system orarrangement before referredto,D being the side of variablelength, andthe suspended point would be situated at or near a. The length of thearm or bar 0 will depend upon the limit of depth pre-determined for thepoint a, say for example thirty-five feet below the keel. The wire ropeD passes up into the interior of the vessel over a pulley I) through atube 0, and its end is secured to the drum of a Windlass or wind ingapparatus E automatically operated in any convenient manner, as by steamor electricity, or, in the case of small vesiels where the apparatus islight, it may be operated by a weight or springs. Before the rope Dreaches the Windlass it passes around the drum or pulley d the axis ofwhich carries a pointer or index 6 which moves around the face of agraduated dialf. In order to maintain the bar Oand rope D in a verticalplane when the ship rolls, I prefer to hinge or pivot the bar 0 to thevessel in the following manner:-gisa hook or bolt fixed in the stem ofthe vessel. his a shackle or 1 shaped frame suspended by the bolt gwhich bolt is of round section where embraced by the shackle. The bar 0is clasped on either side by the arms of shackle h and pivots betweenthem on the pin h. The bar 0 will consequently always lie within avertical plane notwithstanding rolling of the vessel, and in order topreserve the proper relative positions of the pulley b and wire rope Dwhen the ship keels over, I mount the said pulley in a frame I) which isfree to swing or swivel on a vertical axis 19 I prefer also to securethe said pulley frame to the interior of a tubular chamber 2' free toslide within the tube 0 without rotating therein. This permits thetubular chamber i and contained pulley b to be drawn up the tube 0 by asuitable rope 2', when required, as for fitting purposes.

F is a light steel frame pivoted to the arm C at and forming aprolongation thereof. Between the arms of the frame F at the free endthereof is mounted on pivots Z the ring Z.

G is a steel cylinder which I term a feather and m are trunnionssituatedexactly in the center of its length, which trunnions are mountedin the ring Z at right angles to the pivots Z thereof. My object in thusmounting the feather G is to permit the same to swing or oscillate inevery direction. When the depth of water beneath the vessel exceeds thepredetermined depth at which the point a is set and the feather G isconsequently out of contact with the ground the feather G will by itsconstruction and arrangement as hereinafter described remain in avertical position, but when the depth of water lessons and approachesthe pro-determined depth of the point a, and the ground consequentlycomes into contact with the lower end of the feather G, the forwardmovement of the vessel will cause the feather G to leave its verticalposition and assume an inclined position as shown in the dotted lines inFig. 1. Within the feather G are disposed electrical contact makers nsoarranged and constructed as to tip over and make contact with the sidesof the feather G and thereby complete through suitable conductors anelectric circuit or circuits when the feather G leaves its normalvertical position. The general arrangement of the contacts and circuitswill be hereinafter described. The effect of cornpleting the circuit isto start in any suitable manner the automatic winding machinery of theWindlass E, which will, by means of the wire rope D, draw up and raisethe arm 0, and at the same time the wire rope D will cause the index 6to move in corresponding proportion, thus indicating on the graduateddial the length of the are described by the point a, and since the depthat which such point a was originally set is known it is obvious that thedialf may be readily so graduated as to indicate in feet and inches orother suitable denominations the exact depth of water beneath thevessels keel, within the limit at which the apparatus commences to act,such limit being of course the pro-determined depth at which thesuspended point a was set, plus the length of the feather G below thelevel of such point. The moment however the featherGleaves theground,and consequently re-assumes its vertical position, the circuit isbroken thereby causing the stoppage of the winding machinery of the sameshould be constructed of such transverse section as to out through thewater easily. A preferable section would be that of a broad double edgesword. The pressure of the water when the vessel is moving would alsotend to raise the arm 0 by curving or bowing out the wire ropeD (whichshould be of as small diameter as possible so as to lessen.

its resistance to the water). Consequently I provide thearm O with apressure counteracting prolongation 0, preferably formed of wood, whichextends beyond the pivot h and which by offering greater resistance tothe water than the bladelike arm 0 will counteract any tendency ofthesaid arm to rise.

The main object of theswinging frame F is to prevent injury to thefeather G should the same be brought violently into contact with the.ground when in a vertical position, as by plunges of the ship forexample. Should this occur thelight frame F will rise on its pivots 70thereby takingoff the violence of the shock. y 4 I p is a pin or boltconnecting the sides of the frame F,.which, when the frame is vio-'lently thrown .up by a sudden shock as above mentioned, will come intocontact with the on the bar 0 before described.

rope D (as shown in Fig.2) which acts as an elastic buffer and servestorestore the frame F to its normal position.

p is a pin or bolt secured transversely across the arm 0, upon whichbolt the .frame F is supported.

O are wooden disks constitutingpressure counteracters secured to theframe F for the same purpose as the pressure countcracter 0 They resistthe tendency of the water to lift the swinging frame F when the vesselis in motion.

The method of mountingthe feather G has already been described and willbe clearly. seen on referring to Figs. 4;- and 5. It should however bementioned that the periphery of the ring Z should be sharpened as shownclearly in Fig. 5 so as to cut through the water readily. As beforementioned .the feather G in its normal position whenout of contact withthe. ground must always be vertical even when the vessel is in motion,and I'insure this, first, by making. the upper portion of the featherabove the trunnions m in the form of a tube filled with .wood or :equalsize, thereby equalizing the resistance.

of each said portion to the water when the vessel is in motion.

'n, Fig.7, represents an electrical contact maker within the feather,which works on a pivot '17. secured .to'a base or partition ofinsulatingmaterial 72 when the feather G leaves its vertical .position, will tipover as. shown. in dotted lines .and complete an electric circuitthrough the The said. contact n,-

side of the feather, one of the conductors or wires of the circuit beingconnected with the bolt n and the other with the exterior of zthefeather. I The-contact maker n should be so arranged in relation to itspivot 11' as not to tip over and make contact until .thev

feather reaches an angle of from thirty degrees to forty degrees fromthe perpendicuthat when tipped over itwill not return to its normalposition and break contactbya mere. slight swaying ofthe feather.

In, Fig. .6 the, feather. is shownras prov ivided-with spaces .forfourcontact makers, whicli. are intended. to tip .in four differentdirections (see the diagram Fig.- 13 where the 1 short arrowsindicatethe directions in which the contact makers tip) andthus to make.electrical contacts in whichever direction the a feather is inclined,and this arrangement 1 is sometimes necessary as willb'e hereinafter.explained in apparatus for, taking and indicating soundings forhydrographical, explorartive and like purposes, but in the apparatusabove described for taking and indicating soundings for purposesofnavigation, only one'contact maker, which completes an electricalcircuit when the. feather inclines in the direction shown in dottedlines in Fig. 1, will be found to be sufficient.

I. will now describe a convenient arrangement of.connections between thefeather and any suitable apparatus for starting the windlass E. i

r, Fig. 1, represents an electric battery or generator'of small power,from onev pole of which a thin wires passes down the tube 0 andleads tothe exterior of the feather G,-

while frolnthe other pole a thin'wire s leadsto the bolt n to which thecontact maker nis pivoted.

fr! is a much stronger .battery from whichprobablyhappen were only onecircuit employed inwhich thecurrent was of sufficient IIO strength tooperate the Windlass starting mechanism. The barrel of the Windlass maybe rotated from the motor employed through the intervention of anyconvenient clutch or like arrangement which will permit the weight ofthe suspended bar 0 to move the barrelin the reverse direction when theoperating mechanism is stopped by the breaking of the circuits.Asuitable brake would be provided to prevent the too rapid descent ofthe bar 0. The driving mechanism of the Windlass may be caused tooperate when the circuit is completed, in any suitable manner, as bycausing the current to start the motor, or, in the case of spring orweight operated windlasses, to release a locking device of some sort,such as a pawl engaging with a ratchet wheel. This and the arrangementof the circuits will of course be readily understood by those acquaintedwith the art.

q Figs. 1 and 2 represents a rope which may be secured to the shackle hfor use in placing the apparatus in position or raising the same. IVhenthe ground shoals so much as to cause the arm 0 to be drawn up close tothe keel the feather is free to assume the position shown in dottedlines in Fig. 2.

I will now proceed to describe a modified form of apparatus, havingreference to Figs. 9, 10,11 and 12, for taking and indicating soundingsat a greater depth for hydrographical, explorative, and like purposes.The only dilference between this apparatus and that just describedconsists in the substitution of a wire rope C (which should be of smalldiameter so as to offer as little resistance as possible to the water)for the bar 0. The said wire rope G is secured to the vessel at or nearthe j unction of the stem and keel in any convenient manner. My objectin substituting a wire rope for the bar C is to reduce the weight of theapparatus which would be excessive if the bar 0 were made three hundredor four hundred feet long. It would also be impracticable to constructan arm or bar of that length. The employment of the wire rope O in lieuof the bar 0 necessitates also a modification in the means employed formounting the feather, the said modified means consist of two curvedframes F, F pivotally connected at Z by the pivots of the ring Z withinwhich the trunnions m of the feather G are mounted. The keel A, rope D,and wire rope C, constitute the triangular system or arrangement, andthe suspended point would be situated at or near the junction of therope D and frame F. Should the feather be brought violently into contactwith the ground when in a vertical position, as by a heavy plunge of thevessel, the frames F F will open outward and take up the shock assumingthe position shown in Fig. 12.

The wire rope D is secured to the frame F, and the wire rope C, whichtakes the place of the arm 0, to the frame F 19 are bolts connecting thesides of the frames F F? to which the ropes D and C may be secured. Inthis modified form of apparatus I prefer to employ four contact makerswithin the feather, which will, as before explained, complete thecircuit in whatever direction the feather is inclined, since all thecontact makers are so arranged as to tip or cant in directions at rightangles to one another. It will therefore be readily understood by anyelectrician, that by suitable indicators in the circuits of the variousconductors the direction of inclination of the feather G maybe indicatedon the ship, and consequently the directions in which the sea bottomslopes. Should the feather G incline in adirectiou intermediate to thelines in which the contact makers tip (that is to say in the directionof the long arrows Fig. 13) two of the contact makers it would completesimultaneous circuits, which could of course be easily indicated.Consequently every direction of inclination of the feather can beascertained on the vessel, and the direction of slope of the sea bottomas well as the depth ascertained.

When the modified form of apparatus is employed, the pressure of thewater on the long wire ropes D and C will, when the vessel is in motion,cause them to assume the curved form shown in dotted lines in thediagram Fig. 9, and consequently they will slightly raise the feather,so that, presuming the feather G to have been set at a pro-determineddepth of say four hundred feet, when the dial indicates four hundredfeet the depth will in reality be rather less, but the amount will betoo small to be of any importance. It is better however that the vesselshould move at slow speed when using this form of apparatus.

In conclusion I would observe that I do not confine or limit myself tothe precise details of construction hereinbefore described andillustrated in the drawings, as the same might obviously be variedwithout departing in any way from the principle of my iuveution as setforth.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is

1. In combination, the feather pivotally supported and having themovable contact therein, the connection between the said feather and thestem of the vessel, the rope or wire D, the winding apparatus connectedthereto and the electric circuits including the contacts of the featherand the winding apparatus, substantially as described.

2. In combination, the feather having the contact piece, the ringZ towhich said feather is pivoted, the connection between the ring and thevessel to which said ring is pivoted the rope D extending to the vessel,the electric circuit to be closed by the contact carried by the feather,and the device actuated through the closing of said circuitsubstantially as described.

3. In combination, the feather having the contact piece, the means forsupporting the same including the pivoted frame with the cpnnectiontherefrom to the vessel the rope D extendingfrom said support to thevessel, the, electric circuit to beclosed by the. contact carried by,the feather, and the device actuated through the closing of said circuitsubstantially as described.

4. In combination, the feather, the series of contacts therein adaptedto move independently in different radial directions, the connectionbetween said feather and the vessel to which the feather is pivoted, therope D the electric circuits, and the device actuated through theclosing of said circuits substantially as described.

5. Apparatus for taking and indicating soundings comprising incombination an arm or bar hinged at one end to the vessel at or near thejunction of the keeland stem thereof, a rope connecting the free end ofthe said arm or bar with an automatically operated windlass on thevessel, a swinging frame pivoted to the said free end of the arm orbar,a cylinder or feather so mounted at the free end of the swingingframe as normally to maintain a vertical position while free to bedeflected or inclined from such vertical position by contact with theground, an electrical contact maker disposed within the feather soconstructed and arranged as to complete an electric circuit or circuitswhich starts the motor of the Windlass when the feather assumes aninclined position, and an indicator on the vessel so connected with therope which raises the arm or bar as to indicate the amount of movementof such rope in raising a or lowering the bar, substantially as and forr the purposes described and illustrated.

6. In combination, the feather, the supporting connection therefor towhich said feather is pivoted, the movable contact in the feather, therope D extending from the feather support to the vessel, the windingapparatus and the indicating mechanism in contact with the rope D andthe electrical circuits including the feather and the winding apparatus,substantially as described.

7. In combination, the feather having the contact piece, the arm 0 towhich the feather is connected, said arm being-pivotedto the vessel, theprolongation O connectedto the arm 0 above the pivot thereof the rope Dextending from the arm to the vessel, the electric circuit to be closedby the contact carried by the feather, and the device actuated throughthe closing of said circuit, substantially as described. I

8, In combination, the tilting feather, the connection therefrom to thevessel, the contact in the feather and the electrical circuit extendingthe feather to the vessel, substantially as described.

9. In apparatus for taking and indicating soundings, the combination ofthe arm 0, swinging frame F featherTG and rope D constructed andarranged substantially as and for the purposes described andillustrated.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses, this 28th day of November, A.-D.1892.7

NICOLAUS POTSGHINSKY.

Witnesses:

A. E. ALEXANDER, V Chartered Patent Agent, .19 Southampton Buildings,London, W. 0.

J. BURGESS, r Clerk to above, 19 Southampton Buildings,

London, W O. a

